Batavia survives physical battle

For six-and-a-half minutes at the start of its game Tuesday night, Batavia's girls basketball team did what it wanted and opened an 8-0 lead at Oswego East in nonconference action.

But the Wolves are comfortable playing a physical style of ball, and once they started bumping and knocking the Bulldogs around, the game got a whole lot tighter. Though Batavia never trailed, it took Natalie Tarter's fourth blocked shot of the night to preserve the 46-43 win.

"We knew it wasn't going to be easy," Batavia coach Tim DeBruycker said.

"Ultimately, it came down to execution."

But long before Tarter slapped away Latajma Campbell's would-be game-tying shot, the junior dominated the game at both ends of the floor, leading the way with 23 points.

It started in the first half as Tarter slashed and dashed through the Oswego East defense, helping the Bulldogs grab a 12-4 advantage after one quarter.

"There seemed to be a lot of open spaces," Tarter said. "I got a feel for what their defense was going to do and I worked around it."

But the game changed once the Wolves started flexing their muscles.

"Our game is to be athletic, and take it to the basket," DeBruycker said. "They did a good job of taking us out of that, and we didn't adjust well in the second quarter."

At halftime, Batavia still led, but the teams were separated by a single point, 21-20.

Batavia's Melissa Norville began the second half by knocking down a 3-pointer, and the two teams went back and forth until the game was tied, 28-28. It was knotted up again, 30-30, but Tracy Ferguson scored on a put-back, and Tarter turned a steal into a hoop and the Bulldogs clung to a 34-30 lead after three quarters.

Oswego East (13-9, 4-6) stayed in the game by controlling the boards in the fourth quarter. But as effective as Wolves' physical play was, it also led to some bad decisions.

That was the case with 2:22 to go when Tarter got knocked to the floor as her jumper from the free-throw line dropped through the net. Tarter completed the three-point play, giving Batavia a 41-36 lead.

"That's your leading scorer taking over the game for a brief period of time," DeBruycker said. "That was just guts."

But the Bulldogs (17-3, 11-0) still had to get it done from the line in the final seconds. The last, vital free throw belonged to Kara Lydon, and it hugged the front of the rim before spinning back through.

"I'm usually good shooting free throws, but I was definitely nervous about that one," Lydon said.